We re-name the ninth month of the year Osagyefo in honour of the legacy of Osagyefo (redeemer) Kwame Nkrumah, Afrika’s revolutiuonary leader and “Man of the Millennium.” (1) He led the charge for liberation on the contintent, seeking to transform it into the world’s super power. (2)

The core element of the programme to transform independent Ghana of which he was president, into an industrialised country in the space of just a generation was the Volta River Project and the contruction of the Akosombo Dam. (3) This plan was ultimately scuppered in part due to the treachery of the likes of Danquah and Busia who conspired with the USA government in much the same way Du Bois did decades earlier against Marcus Garvey’s Liberia programme. (4)

Yet the centrality of power generation remained central to the continent’s development. Thus the recent launch of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) has been hailed as more than just a national project but “a continental statement — one built on African resources, African resolve, and African ambition.” (5)

The hydro electric power generated by GERD has begun supplying clean energy to South Sudan, Kenya, and Djibouti, and talks are underway to export electricity to Tanzania, among others. But there is still much work to do within Ethiopia itself where only half the population have electricity and for which extensive work is required to develop transmission and distribution networks. Moreover, the geopolitical challenges presented by the Arab regimes of Egypt and Sudan, particularly over access to and use of the River Nile will require expert negotiation in order for GERD to surpass previous efforts like INGA I, II, and III dams in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). (6)

So whereas Ethiopia is attempting to move towards resource sovereignty, the DRC seems to travelling in the other direction. The Tshisekedi regime’s offer to the USA of security in exchange for minerals has alarmed many. And if that were not bad enough, notorious mercenary outfit Blackwater, who head Erik Prince has called for the re-colonisation of Afrika, is reportedly at the heart of the negotiations. (7)

Brokering peace on the continent should be the role of the African Union (AU) but in so many ways it has been found wanting with observers calling for a re-set to take the organisation forward under new chair, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf of Djibouti. (8)

Perhaps signs of this new beginning is the AU joining the Caribbean governments (CARICOM) in demanding at the second Africa-CARICOM summit, “meaningful reparations” for “horrific crimes” from European countries for their role in enslaving African people and exploiting land and resources. (9)

Although observers remain encouraged by events in the Ouagadougou (Sahel) region, a mixed picture remains in the rest of the continent. The Osagyefo famously declared that “neo-colonialism is the last stage of imperialism.” It appears that this remains the major stumbling block in the present. (10)

1) BBC World Service (14/09/00) Kwame Nkrumah’s Vision of Africa. https://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/people/highlights/000914_nkrumah.shtml
2) GhanaWeb (08/03/25) 5 reasons the CIA might have taken out Kwame Nkrumah. https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/5-reasons-the-CIA-might-have-taken-out-Kwame-Nkrumah-1974545
3) New African (08/02/18) The Volta River Project: How Kwame Nkrumah’s dream project was frustrated. https://newafricanmagazine.com/16321/
4) Anthony Obeng Afrane (11/12/23) The untold story of the Akosombo Dam. https://www.modernghana.com/news/1280483/the-untold-story-of-the-akosombo.html; Tony Martin (1986) Race First: The Ideological and Organisational Struggles of Marcus Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association. The Majority Press. p. 302
5) The Voice Online (12/09/25) The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and Pan-African prosperity. https://www.voice-online.co.uk/opinion/comment/2025/09/12/the-grand-ethiopian-renaissance-dam-and-pan-african-prosperity/
6) Yohannes Woldemariam & Genevieve Donnellon-May (17/01/26) The politics of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/africaatlse/2024/01/17/the-politics-of-the-grand-ethiopian-renaissance-dam/; The Voice Online. Op. cit.
7) Nicholas Mwangi (20/04/25) Congolese activists decry US-Congo mineral deal. https://peoplesdispatch.org/2025/04/20/congolese-activists-decry-us-congo-mineral-deal/; Jon Schwarz (10/02/24) Erik Prince Calls for U.S. to Colonize Africa and Latin America. https://theintercept.com/2024/02/10/erik-prince-off-leash-imperialism-colonialism/
8) Tafi Mhaka (05/12/24) African Union is in desperate need of a new beginning. https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2025/2/21/african-union-is-in-desperate-need-of-a-new-beginning
9) Sinai Fleary (10/09/25) African Union joins Caribbean in demanding reparations from Britain for ‘horrific crimes.’ https://www.voice-online.co.uk/news/world-news/2025/09/10/african-union-joins-caribbean-in-demanding-reparations-from-britain-for-horrific-crimes/
10) Mark Langan (03/02/18) Ghana’s first president accurately predicted what Africa’s former European colonizers would do. https://qz.com/africa/1196232/ghanas-first-president-accurately-predicted-what-europes-former-colonizers-would-do-in-africa/

we ask the question:

Does Afrika need Nkrumahism today?

1) What lessons can we learn from the Volta River Project?
2) Can GERD succeed where past efforts have not?
3) Will the AU’s support for reparations make a difference?
4) Will congo be the gateway to recolonisation?

Our Special Guest:

Bro. Ldr. Mbandaka: Resident guest who is Spiritual Leader of the Alkebu-Lan Revivalist Movement and an Afrikan-Centred Education Consultant. Bro. Ldr is a veteran activist of over 40 years standing, a featured columnist in The Whirlwind newspaper and author of Mosiah Daily Affirmations and Education: An African-Centred Approach To Excellence.

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